May 2003 - Kalimantan to Malaysia

Photo Slide Show

We took our time leaving Kumai, Kalimatan. We enjoyed being at anchor in the river and saw no hurry to get going. There had been lots of rain squalls but no wind to feel on our face or see on the forecasts so what was the rush if we had to motor. We knew when we planned our return to the boat we would be in the transition months and likelihood for wind was low.

The girls were on school holidays so it there was time for some craft and even the Easter Bunny found us, leaving the usual messy footprints all over the boat. We cleared Immigration here so we would 'between countries' and didn't need to rush to get to the last port in Indonesia before our visa ran out. Instead we could stop a bit along the way but only where there were no officials.
 
Elizabeth enjoyed the challenge of going to the market to bargain and stock up on a few fresh things. After that we lifted our muddy anchor and set off. Luckily the rain squalls that built up as we left went around us as we headed down the river and found our way out into the open sea.
 

 A good watch whenever your going along is important, but here with so many fishing boats and nets around it's essential. Mind youu the likelihood of falling asleep on watch is low, as we always seemed to be tracking something. To add interest there are huge barges of logs towed by tugs as well. It sounds worse than it is, as the fishing boats seemed to cluster on the shallower banks and we'd take a path that goes around the whole fleet. During the day we crossed over a shallow bank (around 9 metres) and found ourselves surrounded by fishing nets. We cut the motor and sailed (at one knot) through them til we returned to deeper waters. The lesson here is obvious - stay in the deep end of the pool!.



The first stop was at Serutu Island which was 44 hours after we left Kumai and apart from an hour or so it was motoring all the way. There were lots of rain squalls which gave us lift (we have the mainsail up all the time and put the headsail out when possible). Serutu Island is marked on the chart as a flora and fauna reserve and apart from some huts on the shore as we went along the coast we only saw fisherman occasionally come into the bay.

This was a lovely stop and it was so good to be by ourselves, anchored in clear water and enjoying the 'basics' again - swimming and checking out the shoreline. Ashore there is a fresh water stream which made the stay 'luxury' as we could wash clothes and ourselves with lots of water. The girls loved playing in the cool little fresh water stream.
 

Our second last night was terrible with a nasty swell coming in and making the boat bob and toss like a little dinghy all night. Liz and I were up virtually all night. The last night was better and in the morning and started on a 260mile leg to Kentar Island. The wind was light and right behind us so we did our best to sail all day with the spinnaker up. Averaged three miles an hour but had a very comfortable, quiet day. A large spanish mackerel caugnt only hours after leaving meant there would be fresh fish on the menu for the trip.

We ended up with all kinds of weather. Light tail winds with the spinaker up, wind of the side (beam) and headwinds. We ended up sailing for most of the leg, and have done reasonable speed - 5-6 knots averaging. The second night saw a big rain storm come through and with lots of wind (I guess over 30 knots). We dropped our sails and waited 30minutes to see whether it was going to last, which it didn't. The rain so hard it was hard to tell if the motor was on or not! The wind died down as quick as it come.

This may be what they call a 'Sumatra' a short, incredibly strong wind, that comes from the direction of Sumatra.

 We crossed the equator in the afternoon just before arriving at Kentar Island. So now we are in the Northern Hemisphere, and it felt like quite a milestone had been reached. Anna was quick with the camera and caught a photo of it. Clever girl!
 
Kentar Island had many fishing huts built on stilts out over the water. They use bright lights and net the fish attracted to the lights. We were unsure as to whether they lived there but assumed they just came out during the night. We stayed for a day there to rest and caught up on some school work. It was just over a hundred miles to the Singapore Straits and day hops through the crowded islands was the strategy. Most yachts go a slightly different route here, as they usually have to clear immigration at Noongsa Point Marina. For us we took a route through Selat Combol and possibly avoided a lot of traffic as we saw very few ships.
 

After two overnight stops along the way, we sailed out into the Singapore Strait. It felt a bit like being on a bycycle on the side of freeway, hoping we wouldn't be cleaned up by a 'big truck' as we crossed. Our chart showed the shipping lanes and traffic directions. It actually turned out OK as the ships are spaced apart by the Singapore shipping authorities and we had ample to time to dip behind one ship before the next one came through. Still, not something you'd want to do everyday!

 
We headed up the western side of Johor strait which separates Malaysia and Singapore. The traffic here was just as bad with ships, both small and supertankers going in all directions. Once up into the river like strait we could relax a bit with the only tension being going under the bridge called the Second link. We stand 19 metres tall in the water and knew we'd clear the 25 metre span but it did look close from the deck.

It is 15 miles from the bridge to the causeway that links the two countries, and we anchored only a few hundred metres from it. It was quite a contrast from the fishing villages of Indonesia to the high rise of Singapore and Johor Baru. We were first dissapointed to find that our friends Peter & Flavia on Sampaguita weren't there but later elated when we heard them on the VHF radio. They, and three other yachts were at anchor on the other side of the causeway. They came over and showed us where to go to clear immigration. Basically we walked against the flow of traffic to where people coming across the causeway are processed, found the office and expained our situation. They were very interested in our travels and there was no hassle at all. Customs was a non event as we just walked past them and said we had nothing to declare.

Over dinner with Peter & Flavia, we heard lots of wonderful talk of Malaysia and Thailand. The south-westerly winds were due to start soon and they felt we should consider cruising the east coast of Malaysia for the next few months. Later we met the other yachts, Harmony 88, Muskat & Selkie and gathered more information on the east coast.

So at this stage we plan to head to Tioman Island from Johor Bahru and see what it it's like.

Getting to Singapore was a matter of hopping on the bus. The SARS outbreak was coming to an end and we had to complete forms stating we had no temperature or came from an affected country. Thermal imaging cameras checked our temperatures as we passed through the usual security checks. Singapore is Singapore. Clean, green, well ordered and trying hard to be perfect in everyway. We had a day out to go to the zoo but with one thing and another, we aborted and went into town. Our day out saw us wandering through a shopping mall completely dedicated to electronic gadgets, riding the MRT (subway) to find our mail and finally a trip to the Night Safari Zoo which was quite good and nice and cool.

We spent our days in Johor Bahru getting schoolwork done and finding more and more shopping centres. Singaporeans come and shop here so there are a large number of centres. We also found a rather run-down zoo which had lots of animals and only cost $3 for the family. Not up to Singapore standards but OK for a look around. We've eaten in the night market, small restaurants and of course the girls have had a few McHappy meals. One evening we went for a walk inside and around the Hindu temple. They are beautifully decorated and the various statues look great. Outside the streets are lined with stalls selling offering flowers and fruit. A great place to buy good bananas. As we left we watched this guy unload a sackful of coconuts. He then proceeded to smash them on the ground at the steps of the temple as an offering and invited the girls to smash of few for him.

One more thing about where we are anchored - it stinks! It's like being anchored in sewer sometimes. Need a clean anchorage to lift the spirits.

Another expedition to Singapore took us to the Jurong Bird Park. This was very impressive as it has huge walk in avaries and an amazing collection of birds. The 'shows' put on were a bit weak but the girls enjoyed it. There were few people there so Courtney volunteered (as usual) and was picked to participate in each show we saw. One lovely surprise was in the South East Asia aviary we saw birds the same as our bird, Ketut. We asked the staff lots of questions, finding out that he is a Pekin Robin, and we brought home a small supply of meal worms that Ketut really loved.

We stayed at Johor Bahru for over three weeks. It happens with cities and us. Just can't seem to move on. Still we emjoyed the stay but at the end we were desperate to get away and find some clean water and relative quiet.

So finally we headed back down the Johor Strait, rounded Singapore island and headed north up the east coast.